1913. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORK1ER 
213 
PERMANENT SOIL ENRICHMENT. 
Part II. 
Experiments With Lime. —The 
Pennsylvania work is the only line of 
experiments in this country where 
ground limestone has been tested along¬ 
side of burned lime for a long period of 
years. Here no special effort was made 
to keep the humus content of the soil 
built up and the fresh burned lime was 
used in greater quantities than was nec¬ 
essary—two tons every four years, and 
was all used at one time before the corn 
crop, a condition that would make its 
caustic properties very active during 
the year when cultivation was most ac¬ 
tive. Had the burned lime been used 
in the Fall, ahead of the wheat crop, 
or at two periods in the four years, 
and not just before a Summer hoed 
crop, the humus and nitrogen loss would 
probably have been less. It would seem 
to the writer that where proper care 
is taken to keep the humus of the soil 
built up, the relative value of the two 
forms of lime is mainly a question of 
relative costs. The speaker pointed out 
that in lime content, one ton of burned 
lime was equal to 1)4 tons of ground 
rock, where both were from the same 
grade or stone. If burned lime costs 
$4 per ton at the plant, and the freight 
rate is $1.50, the final cost is $5.50. Its 
equivalent of limestone (1J4 tons) at $2 
per ton at the plant would cost $3.50, 
and with a special freight rate of $1 
per ton, $1.75 must be added to cover 
freight, making a total of $5.25. But 
this is not all, nearly one-half the freight 
expense is on material of no value, 
which would mean that the freight must 
be paid on about three tons of lime¬ 
stone ($3) to get an equivalent rate 
with that on one ton of burned lime. 
This would make the total cost at point 
of delivery the same, with burned lime 
at $4 and ground limestone at $2 at the 
point of loading, with a freight rate 
one-third lower on the ground stone. 
This does not allow for the extra ex¬ 
pense for carting and handling the large 
amount of worthless material in the 
ground stone. The convenience of hand¬ 
ling the ground stone would perhaps 
more than make up for the trouble of 
hydrating or air-slacking the burned 
stone. This shows that unless ground 
limestone can be bought for $2 or less 
per ton, bulk, at point of loading, freshly 
burned lime is relatively cheaper under 
the best conditions of freight, offered in 
Connecticut. It may be that the trouble 
and annoyance of handling the burned 
lime would give some weight in favor 
of the ground rock, at the same or a 
slightly greater cost. In Pennsylvania 
and Maryland I found many farmers 
buying burned lime direct from the 
kilns, and reducing it by slacking in the 
Winter season, so that it was ready for 
use in the early Spring. 
Permanent Enrichment. —The third 
recommendation of the speaker, toward 
building up permanent soil enrichment, 
was in the use of ground phosphate 
rock or floats. Here the fact was clear¬ 
ly brought out that only where an 
abundance of organic matter was pres¬ 
ent, could the ground phosphate become 
available. When applied together with 
green crops plowed under, or at the 
same time with an application of stable 
manure, the insoluble phosphates become 
active. In pot experiments made in 
New Jersey, in pure sand, even large | 
applications of ground phosphate rock i 
gave no increase of crop. The conclu¬ 
sion must be drawn that phosphate rock 
should be used only where there is a 
large amount of decaying organic mat¬ 
ter in the soil. The dairyman can sup¬ 
ply these essential conditions, either in 
the form of stable manure or green 
crops plowed under. The market gar¬ 
dener, and other vegetable growers, 
would need to use the more active acid 
phosphates, because many of these crops 
are quick growing and are not what are 
known as “gross feeders.” 
Effects of Phosphates. —It is a well- 
known fact that active phosphates in 
the soil often hasten ripening, and this 
may warrant their use by truck grow¬ 
ers. The speaker made it clear that 
there was a much smaller amount 
of phosphorus in nearly all normal soils 
than of potassium, and this was one 
great reason why phosphates were' more 
essential to soil fertility than potash, 
i he use of potash, the speaker thought, 
was entirely unnecessary on most soils, 
if we only provided the proper amount 
of organic matter and lime to unlock the 
vast stores of potash in the soil. It 
should be remembered, however, that 
this advice was not given for vege¬ 
table or fruit growers. These crops re¬ 
quire so much larger amounts of potash 
than the staple grain and hay crops that 
potash fertilizers will often pay, on 
them, on most any kind of soil. On 
soils actually needing potash, the speak¬ 
er argued that the cheapest source was 
in the form of kainit, partly because 
of its beneficial effect on the soil, and 
partly because it supplied potash in . the 
most valuable form, that of the sul¬ 
phate. C. S PHELPS. 
Top-dressing Wheat and Rye. 
1. In 1912 plowed this land and limed 
it, and put in Canada peas and oats; then 
turned this under when peas were in 
bloom. September 15 I put in wheat. Is 
it necessary to top-dress this with any¬ 
thing? If so please tell with what, when 
and how much ? Is it advisable to give 
rye a top-dressing in Spring? 2. Is there 
any advantage clipping a farm horse in 
Winter? Is not the heavy coat of hair 
a necessary and natural protection? 
Brooklyn, N. Y. j. f. l. 
1. If tills land is naturally fertile the 
corp of peas and oats plowed under ought 
to produce a fair wheat crop. If you ex¬ 
pect a superior yield it will pay to use at 
least 300 pounds per acre of a high-grade 
grain fertilizer of some standard brand. 
We doubt if fertilizing the rye will pay. 
2. We should not clip the horse ir Winter. 
We think he needs the coat nature has 
given him. We would clip in Spring. 
Cow Peas to Turn Under. 
I would like to plant cow peas on a 
sandy gravelly loam to plow under for 
potatoes. Could I sow them April 1 and 
turn them under June 1 and receive any 
benefit from them? How many bushels to 
the acre, drilled or broadcast? g. s. s. 
Ravenna, O. 
April 1 is too early to sow cow peas. 
This plant is really a tender bean and 
should not be put in the ground until | 
about corn planting time. The Canada 
field pea is a true hardy pea and may be 
seeded when the soil is fit for oats, but 
do not get this confused with cow peas 
which are far more tender. We use five 
pecks broadcast or a bushel to the acre 
when drilled. 
Renting New York Farm. 
I noted recent advice to rent a year 
before buying a farm in New York. Where 
can I learn of farms to rent in new York? 
Mount Alto, Pa. g. h. f. 
I think that you will have little difficulty 
in finding farms for rent in any section of 
New York State where they are advertised 
for sale. I would advise a personal visit 
to the section where you think that you 
would like to locate, and an inspection' of 
such farms as may be in the market. Rent¬ 
ing or purchasing farms by mail is likely 
to prove a highly unsatisfactory method 
of acquiring an education through a "cor¬ 
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LIME 
for the soil only. Our Agri¬ 
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at the time of seeding and 
will not burn anything. Will 
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We guarantee immediate 
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